UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

France’s commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “stronger than ever,” the French ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday after Washington signaled it was ready to step away from the policy.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — “Islamophobia” in parts of the world is fuelling terrorism, the head of the United Nations said on a visit to Saudi Arabia Sunday, as anti-immigrant sentiment rises in some countries.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ office called Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni over the weekend and told her she was being considered for under secretary-general. Livni’s associates stressed that no offer had been made, calling it a “preliminary check.”

TEL AVIV – In the wake of the U.S. block on former Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad to be the United Nations envoy to Libya, Israel’s ambassador to the international body Danny Danon praised the start of a “new era” in which the U.S. stands “firmly beside Israel.”